Amish Beard-Cutting Trial: Jury selection begins for 16 people in Ohio

By: Crimesider Staff
Topics: Daily Blotter

In this Oct. 19, 2011 file photo, from left: Johnny Mullet, Lester Mullet, Daniel Mullet, Levi Miller and Eli Miller wait to make their pleas in Holmes County Municipal Court in Millersburg, Ohio.

/ Wooster Daily Record,AP Photo/Mike Schenck

(CBS/AP) CLEVELAND - Jury selection in the trial of 16 people charged with hates crimes in hair-cutting attacks on fellow Amish got under way Monday morning in Cleveland.

Pictures: Amish men charged in beard-cutting attacks

Among those who are charged are the leader of a breakaway Amish group and four of his children who all live in eastern Ohio.

Prosecutors say some of the suspects forcibly cut the beards and hair of Amish men and women last fall. Authorities say the attacks were motivated by religious differences.

According to CBS Cleveland, prosecutors say potential evidence in the trial will include horse mane shears allegedly used in the attacks as well as a camera allegedly used to photograph the victims' appearances, hair from the victims and transcripts of jailhouse calls by some of the defendants.

Additional exhibits outlined in a government filing Friday include letters from one of 16 defendants and video and audio recordings of interviews with other defendants.

Some of the defendants face prison terms of 20 years or more if convicted. They earlier turned down plea bargain offers that would have carried much shorter sentences.

The group's leader contends that they should be allowed to handle what they see as internal church disciplinary matters.

Complete coverage of Amish beard-cutting attacks on Crimesider

10 Photos

Amish members sentenced to prison in beard-cutting attacks

View the Full Gallery »

5 Comments +

Add a Comment


by Ronald_J_Parlee April 5, 2013 8:56 PM EDT: This can not be a hate crime because these men knew the outcome if they broke the laws of their religion ; it is like me if I drove down a road that was a 30 mph and I drove 60 mph. I know what I would get if I get cauth , jail time , right !!!; Reply to this comment


by richloammiser September 1, 2012 7:09 PM EDT: If I ever start up a beard-cutting gang, I want a guy named Johnny Mullet, just like the Mullet Gang had.

Check out the biblical basis for retaliatory beard cutting at http://biblefunmentionables.com/2012/08/31/barberism-in-amish-country/; Reply to this comment


by WildAboutTrial August 28, 2012 1:14 PM EDT: Get the ONLY app devoted to detailed trial coverage and follow this trial! Wild About Trial - http://www.wildabouttrial.com/get-wild-about-trial/; Reply to this comment


by thebob-bob August 28, 2012 12:48 PM EDT: Sounds like what Romney did when he was in High School. The kid that was different wasn't walking the "straight and narrow". He dressed differently and wore his hair a little longer than Romney thought was acceptable. So Mittens and a few of his buddies tackled the guy and, while his buddies held the kid down, Mittens cut his hair.

Do we really want a bully like that in the White House?; Reply to this comment